THE family of a deposed Catalan Government minister who has been in jail without trial for four months have launched a video campaign to unite people who believe in democracy.

Joaquim Forn, who was Catalonia’s Interior Minister, is facing possible charges of rebellion, sedition, and misuse of public funds and, along with sacked vice president Oriol Junqueras, has been kept in a Madrid’s Estremera prison, despite resigning as a minister and an MP.

His sister Marta and brother-in-law Alejandro Scherk said the campaign - IndependènciaNoÉsDelicte (Independence is not a Crime) - is based on social media and comprises video clips of people expressing their opinions about Spain’s handling of the Catalan independence question.

“Record a brief video of yourself where you express the main message of this campaign: ‘Supporting Catalan Independence is not a crime’ and post it to social media using the hashtag #IndependènciaNoÉsDelicte. Help us spread the word!” they told The National.

The couple are urging people who post a video to share it online through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as resending it to private contacts through WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging apps.

They added: “The campaign [is] to bring together all the people who believe in democracy, regardless of whether they support independence or not.”